As Americans struggle, the Obamas make do with 37 Christmas trees

The economy may be weak, unemployment strong and the first family soon to vacate the White House for another half-month of vacation in Hawaii.

But the Obamas have gone all out in decorating their house this year, including a nearly quarter-ton gingerbread White House.

They have also installed 37 different Christmas trees. Thirty of the trees are live, or were, including one nearly 19-feet tall from Wisconsin. Seven of the three dozen Christmas trees are artificial or homemade including, of course, one from recyclables.

“We have 37 Christmas trees here at the White House–37!” Michelle Obama excitedly told a recent group of visitors. “That’s a lot, right? Yes, that’s a lot of trees. And we also have a 400-pound White House gingerbread house.”

Virtually every room has also been decorated for the holidays with some kind of a replica of the Obamas’ dog, Bo, who’s being made into a kind of first family Christmas canine symbol.

The Bo’s are made of all sorts of materials and come in all sizes. There are Bo’s made of pom-poms (750 of them), Bo’s made from about 2,000 pieces of licorice, Bo’s made from some 35 yards of wool felt and Bo’s made from nearly 7,000 feet of plastic trash bags. There’s even a nine-inch Bo made from hundreds of buttons.